Nightly Routine
by Cassie Bones
Summary: Based on a gif I saw on Tumblr. Tag for 5x20, 'The Fast and the Furriest'


**Okay, so another bout of inspiration caused this little crack!fic. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I owe nothing but their firstborn child.**

**Nightly Routine**

Katherine Beckett Castle was amazed that the shirt and shorts she wore every night to bed still fit like a glove. Even after five years and two kids, her body was still as slender as it had been when she bought them, despite the fact that she would be turning forty this year. It was a miracle, really. And the same could be said for her husband, Richard Castle, who was now well into his forties, with a twenty-four year old daughter who was about to give him his first grandchild. Castle always complained about feeling old but he didn't much look it. Except for the slight lines on his face and the light graying above his ears, he still looked as young and versatile as ever. And he proved just how young and energetic he still was as often as he could.

Kate smiled down at the beautiful platinum band on her left ring finger. They'd gotten married just four short years ago after a six-month engagement. Kate had already been two months pregnant with their first child, Richard James Castle, at the time of the wedding, but her dress was barely altered and you couldn't even tell in any of the wedding pictures (the only thing that made it obvious was the orange juice in her glass instead of champagne).

Castle had looked so handsome in his black tux and dark purple bowtie and she had looked stunning in an elegant princess-skirted, sleeveless wedding gown, with that purple ribbon tied around her waist and trailing down the back of her dress. Her veil had covered her entire face and gone down to mid-back on her. Her hair was put up, elegantly, and accented with small purple flowers. It was a spring wedding (on the 2nd anniversary of their coupling) and a beautiful day outside. Their wedding had taken place at the Hampton house with Captain Gates officiating it. Kate chuckled as she remembered the threatening glares Gates had sent Castle, letting him know that if he broke the heart of her best detective, he would be in for it. Castle got the message loud and clear.

He'd been unable to choose a Best Man for the occasion so he'd chosen both Esposito and Ryan to stand up with him as his Best Men (after joking that Ryan could be his ringbearer and having a gun shoved in his face while Espo stood by and laughed). Kate had obviously chosen Lanie as her Maid of Honor and had asked Alexis and Jenny to be her bridesmaids. Castle, in turn, asked Alexis's boyfriend, Max, to be his one and only groomsman (if only so Alexis would have somebody to walk down the aisle with.) Ryan's son, Caleb, and Jenny's little niece, Morgan, had been the ringbearer and flower girl. Since Caleb was not yet walking, Martha had taken it upon herself to carry the adorable little boy and to also hold three-year old Morgan's hand as they all three walked down the aisle.

The ceremony had been lovely and all had cheered as Castle dipped his new wife for a passionate, life-altering kiss. They walked back down the aisle, hand-in-hand, pelted by rice and shouts of, "Finally!" and "About time, Beckett!" Kate laughed as she reminded them that she was no longer technically Beckett, but was now, officially, a Castle. Her husband squeezed her hand and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek for that remark.

Their reception had been long and festive. Lanie had caught the bouquet and poor Max had caught the garter, earning his death glares from Esposito and saucy teasing looks from Lanie. Alexis had stood to the side and laughed hysterically as he fumbled to get the garter on Lanie's leg as fast and gracefully as possible before running to her side and apologizing profusely. Castle had smiled at the scene from his spot next to Kate, deciding that awkward Max made a wonderful match for his daughter. Lanie had returned to Espo with a cocky smirk and had been received with a kiss passionate enough to make her foggy-eyed. He proposed to her less than an hour later and Lanie's affirmative screams had rung throughout the backyard, most likely disrupting Castle's faraway neighbors. After that, they disappeared, not to be seen until noon the next day when Lanie had started planning her wedding with Kate.

Their wedding _night_ had been the best experience of Kate's entire sex life. Castle had worshipped her body all night before finally giving into his own pleasure and lying with her in a sweaty heap, whispering words of love and adoration and _always_ until the sun came up.

They still had nights like that, though they were few and far between with now _two _children in the mix. Richard James Castle had been born in December, just a few days shy of Christmas. Castle had joked, saying they should name him Nicholas, after St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) but Beckett had immediately shot him down, opting rather for naming him after his father and her father; Richard James. Castle loved that idea even more and had dubbed him RJ, smiling down at the little blue-eyed boy in his wife's arms. He'd always wanted a son, though he would love another daughter just as much. He wondered if his son would turn out like him; a non-athletic goober with a love for books and all things sci-fi. Or maybe he would turn out sporty like his mother, who, Castle was grateful, was also just as nerdy as he was.

They would find out soon enough that the former would be true. Though he looked almost identical to his mother (except for his bright blue eyes which he'd definitely inherited from his father), RJ had his father's energy and quirks. His first steps had been clumsy and uncoordinated, which might have been natural for any baby, but he'd also apparently inherited the desire to touch everything and often knocked things down whenever he attempted to walk or crawl anywhere. It prompted Beckett to move every single breakable object they owned to higher shelves or into storage, where it currently stayed despite the fact that RJ was nearly four years old. He was still as klutzy as ever.

Their second child, Johanna "Joey" Martha Castle, was thankfully a bit more light on her feet, just like Beckett. She looked more like Castle, with her infuriatingly charming smirk and that dark brown hair that flopped over one eye constantly, but she had Beckett's green eyes. She was born on July 3rd and Castle had, again, joked that they should name her something patriotic like America or Victoria or something similar in spirit of Independence Day. Kate, again, shot him down. She was named after their mothers, two women who were inherently responsible for their own births in the first place. Joey was two now and was often mistaken for RJ's twin due to her height, which was accredited to both Castle and Beckett. Kate looked at her and sometimes couldn't believe that she was only two years old; she looked like she may have been going on five already. Joey was a bit more serious than RJ, always rolling her eyes in a scary-accurate imitation of her mother whenever RJ acted out or did something silly to make her giggle. The two children adored each other and their older sister who was constantly spoiling them with presents and 'field trips' to the Zoo and Museum. Alexis treated them like her own babies sometimes and Kate was relieved that Alexis was so welcoming to her younger siblings.

And though both children were as different as oil and water, they had one very important thing in common; they were both absolute _devils_ when it came to bedtime rituals. Joey, already well into her 'Terrible Two's' often refused to go to sleep unless Castle read her a bedtime story or six, throwing a tantrum every time he moved to walk out of the room when he was certain she was asleep. RJ was no better. He wouldn't even _dream _of going to sleep until he ran a marathon around the entire house with Kate chasing after him, making sure he didn't break anything. At some point, she had stopped running after him and sat on the staircase, flipping through a magazine and watching as he ran, giggling the entire way. Usually when she heard a thump, she would look up and see that he dropped somewhere and finally fell asleep somewhere on the floor, so she would stand and throw the magazine on the counter in the kitchen, before returning to take him into her arms, unable to keep an adoring smile off her face as she gazed down at the little boy in her arms. Because though he looked just like her in every way, all she could see was his father when he slept. She would carry him up to his bedroom, passing by Joey's, where Castle was usually still working on lulling their daughter to sleep with his calm, soothing words, and lay him down in his racecar bed, tucking him in and kissing his head softly, stroking her fingers through his golden-brown locks. These were the moments she treasured most; the moments that she would keep with her forever in her memory to remind herself not to kill him when he went through his inevitable 'wild child' faze in his teen years.

She would watch him a few moments longer and smile as he turned on his side, his arms searching for the worn lion stuffed animal that Martha had given him for his first birthday. Kate always placed the lion in his arms before she left, giving him on more kiss before standing and making her way out of his room, leaving the door open so that a small sliver of light could still enter.

Castle went through similar motions when he finally got Joey to doze off. He would smile down at her, remembering Alexis when she was this tiny. He would move her dark brown hair behind her ear and kiss her cheek, grinning as she crinkled her nose in that adorable way that reminded him so much of Beckett. She would curl up with her stuffed elephant, burying her nose behind one big, floppy ear and Castle would chuckle, watching her sleep for a little while longer before joining his wife in their bedroom.

Though they still lived in the loft, Castle and Beckett had made the conscious decision to move their bedroom upstairs in order to watch over their children and make sure that they were there as soon as there was any disturbance. Their new room had a bathroom and walk-in closet big enough for his suits and her shoes and dresses. The bathroom also had a Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower big enough for two (they had checked). Beckett was in there, now, going through her nightly routine.

She started most nights off with a shower or, if she could get away with it, a nice, relaxing bath to ease her aches after a long work day. She was still at the 12th, still working Homicide with Ryan and Esposito (both who had their own families now). Castle would still join her but had to leave early most days to pick up the kids from school. Sometimes Alexis would be available to babysit but not always. He still refused to hire a nanny so he would pick them up from Daycare and Preschool and they would usually have him on speaker or Skype to help out with the cases when he was writing or chasing after RJ, _or _dealing with one of Joey's tantrums.

After Beckett's shower, she would dress in whatever pajamas she set out for herself (tonight being the gray short shorts and Victoria's Secret Pink shirt Castle had gotten her on an indulgence once, in their first year together), tie up her hair, and cleanse her face with the fancy apricot scrub she allowed herself to indulge in (it was the best for her face). She had once put on an avocado mask and it had freaked Castle out when he came in from putting Joey down to bed. He'd let out a girlish squeal—that, to this day, he still denies—and practically fell on his head off their bed when she turned to kiss him good night.

Beckett had rolled her eyes but she'd never put the mask on again while he was home though she often allowed herself the pleasure when he was off on his book tours.

Beckett scrubbed her face, looking in the mirror to make sure she covered her entire face, before splashing water on herself and using a hand towel to wash it off. When she looked back in the mirror, she tried not to focus on any flaws (which is hard for any woman, really) and focused more on making sure that her face was clean and smooth. She spotted a wrinkle on her forehead, but it was faint and nearly unnoticeable if you weren't looking for it. There was thankfully no white hair to be seen on her head. She stepped back to check out her body. She was wearing her short white terrycloth robe over her pajamas, the same one she'd, again, had for years and still fit. She could thank her career choice and her children for that; they were the ones constantly keeping her on her feet. She could also thank her husband for that, considering their still very-active nightlife. Kate and Rick made it a mission to keep the spark alive at least three times a week, no matter how tired they were. They very rarely broke that pact.

Kate smiled at the thought, her cheeks growing warm as she imagined her husband lying in bed, waiting for her. It was only Tuesday night but they'd already kept that promise once this week (three times if you count…_certain things_). And tonight she was feeling like they could do it again. After all, the children were asleep and she was wide awake; she knew Castle was, as well. He'd barely been able to keep his hands off her since she returned home and she could hear him flipping through some novel or magazine or, most likely, a comic book while he waited for her to come to bed. Beckett smiled at that thought. Her nerdy, muscular, charming husband was waiting for her, like he promised he always would, even before they got together. It was that thought that made her exit the bathroom, pulling her like a magnet towards her husband.

Rick was, as expected, lying in bed, flipping through an old Green Lantern comic as he waiting for his wife. He had on his reading glasses (which Beckett had to coerce him into getting since he was very stubborn on the fact that glasses signified old age; Beckett convinced him that she thought they signified wisdom and made him look sexier. He bought them on the spot) and seemed to be very deep into the storyline when Beckett entered, tossing her robe onto the armchair and climbing into bed with him. Castle's face brightened as he turned to her, tossing the comic book to the side, not even caring that it completely missed the end table and fell to the floor with a barely audible thump.

Beckett smiled back at him, leaning towards him to remove his glasses and then over him to place them on his nightstand. When she moved back, Castle's arm wrapped around her waist, his thumb rubbing over her hip as he smiled lovingly at her.

"Good evening, Beautiful," he said, nuzzling her nose. Beckett's lips broke out into a grin and she reached up to run her fingers over his stubbly chin (she specifically asked him never to shave his face at night and to save it until morning), reveling in the sensations it created on her finger.

"Good evening, Handsome," she responded. Usually she would call him goober or something silly but some nights she felt sentimental and oh so lucky that he'd chosen _her_, out of all the women that he could have had. He was Richard Castle, for God's sake! He'd been her favorite author since she was nineteen years old, a notorious playboy to the media, her goofy, cocky partner for close to ten years now, almost always having girls mooning over him wherever they went, and yet he had chosen _her. _And now they had two beautiful children, shared a loft in the middle of Manhattan, still worked closely, and were as in love as ever. Sometimes, she felt as if she didn't deserve him or his love, but then he looked at her like _that_, with love and adoration shining in those big blue eyes of his, and she could almost see him thinking the same thing. So she pushed those thoughts out of her head and kissed him, because she could, and he reciprocated with fervor, because he _wanted _to. And, to Kate, _that _was magic.

Tonight was no different. She leaned into his, attaching their lips softly, feeling his arm tighten around her waist as he moved to bring her closer to his body…

Only to have a noise interrupt them from across the hall.

Kate pulled back, immediately, listening. Castle did the same, turning his head towards the door.

"What was that?" Kate asked, eyes wide.

"Mommy!" a little voice called out from across the hall. "Captain Gates is going to _eat me_!"

Kate sighed, resting her forehead on Castle's shoulder. "Not another one," she groaned. RJ's recurring nightmares about her boss had been almost comical at first, considering Castle had similar dreams (only his were more of Captain Gates throwing him out of the Precinct or causing him some kind of bodily harm rather than eating him), but they'd become and annoyance when they seemed to occur at the most inopportune moments.

Castle sighed and turned to lay a kiss in her hair. "Want me to get him?" he asked, softly.

Kate shook her head. "No, I'll get him," she insisted. "He said, 'Mommy' this time." She sighed as she untangled herself from her husband, pulling her robe back on and tying it around her waist. "He is _definitely_ your son," she said, not for the first time, to Rick. Castle chuckled.

Kate made her way towards the door, pausing as she heard some cries coming from Joey's room.

"Looks like Joey is up, too, now," she informed her husband, who immediately stood and followed her out of the room. They parted ways in the hallway, each disappearing into a different child's room.

Kate entered RJ's room, her heart breaking as she saw him sitting up in bed, clutching his lion, tears sparkling in those blue eyes of his. She positioned herself awkwardly on the small racecar bed, facing him. She opened her arms for him to crawl into her embrace and he did so without hesitation. Beckett held him to her chest, soothing him with her words and rocking him back and forth, running her hands through his shaggy light brown hair.

"Shh," she whispered in his ear, "it's okay, Sweetie; Mommy's right here. It's okay." RJ calmed down almost immediately and Beckett looked down at him, wiping his tears away with her thumbs. She smiled down at him. "Now, there," she said, adoringly, "there's my handsome little boy." RJ smiled up at her; that confident, cocky smile he often imitated from his father. Beckett chuckled. "Now, do you want to talk about it?" she asked. She always asked.

RJ nodded. "Captain Gates was gonna eat me," he whimpered, another tear falling down his cheek. Kate rubbed it away and hugged him tighter, kissing his forehead.

"Aw, Sweetie," she said, softly, "Captain Gates isn't going to eat you. She _adores_ you," which was true. Captain Gates loved all the Castle children, no matter how much like Castle they were. She often allowed them to come into the Precinct on days when things were slow and was constantly slipping them candies and giving them paper and crayons to draw with. But for some reason RJ had this irrational fear of her. Kate thought it might have something to do with Rick, but he always denied it. "Why would she eat you?" Kate asked RJ.

RJ shrugged. "I dunno," he responded. "She was just chasing me and she had sharp teeth and claws and she was saying, 'I'm gonna eat you, RJ!' and I couldn't get away from her no matter how hard I tried!" A fresh set of tears streamed from his eyes and Kate continued to rock him, whispering soothing words into his ears.

"It's okay, Baby," she whispered, "nobody's gonna eat you. Would you like to come sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room tonight?" She knew Castle would not like it but her baby boy seemed genuinely scared for his life and she couldn't stand seeing him like this. She also knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep on his own tonight, which meant she was either sleeping in his bed or he was sleeping in hers. Hers was the better option for her back.

RJ nodded, clutching her. Beckett kissed his hair and lifted him, grabbing his lion and settling him on her hip as she made her way back to her own room. Castle was already there, Joey curled up in his lap as he soothed her own tears. Beckett was glad she wasn't the only softy in the family. She climbed in next to him, settling RJ in between them, laying down and allowing the little boy to nestle into her side. Castle smiled apologetically at her over Joey's head. Beckett gave him a questioning glance and he mouth, 'Dark,' back. Beckett nodded in understanding; Joey was deathly afraid of the dark. Sometimes even the choo choo train nightlight they'd gotten her wasn't enough to allay her fears. They lay there, silently, for a while, each soothing a different child to sleep. Soon enough, both kids were sound asleep, both curled against their parents' sides. Castle laid down, placing Joey in between him and RJ, kissing both of their foreheads, and glancing over at Beckett with a pout. Beckett shrugged back.

"Tomorrow," she mouth with a wink, "lunch break." Castle grinned back and they both leaned over their children, meeting halfway for a kiss goodnight before turning to their separate lamps and turning off the lights. They turned towards each other and shared 'I love you's and 'good night's before succumbing to sleep.

**This was based off a scene from 'The Fast and the Furriest' and something I posted under one of the gifs on Tumblr. This was that "what was that?" scene that everybody loves, only instead of a blue Alexis, they deal with two teary-eyed children. I added a lot more background than I originally intended for this piece, but I hope y'all don't mind. **

**Reviews are welcome and encouraged!**


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